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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29836134">quiet these noisy thoughts of you</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobrainjustchiakienstar/pseuds/nobrainjustchiakienstar'>nobrainjustchiakienstar</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Flirting, Friends to Lovers, Holding Hands, M/M, Pining</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:13:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,005</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29836134</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobrainjustchiakienstar/pseuds/nobrainjustchiakienstar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Shu is back in Japan for a while and, as a result, gets to spend some time with Kuro for the first time in a while. However, he also starts noticing the ways Kuro has changed since graduation. Like, <em>really</em> noticing.</p>
<p>It's distracting.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Itsuki Shuu/Kiryuu Kurou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>quiet these noisy thoughts of you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hi yeah i just wanted to lovemail kuro since i don't do it enough but he makes my brain melt so sorry in advance for any mistakes (also damn there's not as much kuroshu as i would've thought so brrrrrr making the food i want to eat i guess)</p>
<p>short chapters tho i don't want anything too plot-heavy, this is just unabashed lovemail</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>In many ways, Shu feels right at home in Paris, surrounded by like-minded creatives and eccentrics so wild they make even Shu look normal and well-adjusted to society in comparison. He doesn’t have to feel ashamed for getting distracted admiring fabrics in his school’s many sewing rooms, nor does he feel too strange about staring at a classmate and proclaiming they’re beautiful; it’s all par for the course for an arts student in France, after all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>However, his time in France just can’t replicate or even compare to certain things about home. Or rather, one thing: simply being in the presence of Kuro, exactly contrasting the energy of Shu’s Parisian peers with his tranquil demeanor while he works on new costumes, is more welcoming to Shu now than he ever thought possible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It's not that he misses Kuro, surely. It's just that he needs a break from all the noise and chaos and (frankly) unhinged artsy atmosphere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The costuming room at Ensemble Square is quiet, nothing needing to be said between Kuro and Shu as they work at their separate machines beside each other. It's an oddity in itself for Kuro to be working properly at a machine rather than by hand on the floor, but working beside him gives Shu a rather interesting vantage point:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kuro’s profile is always striking, his strong features making him look much more hardened and rough than he actually is, narrowed green eyes looking almost menacing to those who don't know better -- yet now his features are softened with fondness, his eyes narrowed not in anger but in concentration on the tiny stitches he’s using to ditch-stitch the edging on the garment he's working on. He's so focused on the task that he doesn't seem to notice Shu’s staring as he chews his lip pensively, taking pins out of his project to hold them carefully between his teeth before moving them to the next section on the fabric.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shu </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn't </span>
  </em>
  <span>watching his childhood friend’s mouth, how vulgar.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His attention instead wanders further down, to Kuro’s hands. Shu can only imagine they're callused and rough from all of the fighting Kuro does, even if it's not the same kind of fighting he did when he was involved with his gang. All Shu knows is that those hands must be strong, though the precise and delicate work they do with the fabrics on the table betray their true nature and Shu can't help but think the juxtaposition is… fascinating. Sexy, even, if Shu dares think the word. He'd like to get to know how Kuro’s hands feel, to examine his nail beds and check for scars and marks, to see if they feel the same as they did when they were kids, even if just in invoking the memory--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Is that a clear coat on his nails? When did Kuro, of all people, start caring about beauty routines and maintenance?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before Shu can second-guess himself, he takes Kuro's hand gingerly with both of his own, bringing it closer to inspect. He finds significantly less scars than he'd expected; Kuro's hands are just as strong as he'd imagined, but lacking much of the calluses and bumps and imperfections Shu assumed should have been present. His cuticles, while a little rough on the edges, gave way to, Shu guessed it, subtly-manicured nails topped with a low-gloss clear coat. Shu wonders when Kuro started doing that, perhaps at the same time he started casually wearing concealer and subtle eyeliner (those small details couldn't possibly go unnoticed by Shu)--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Icc-- Itsuki," Kuro starts, breaking the silence of the work room that Shu </span>
  <em>
    <span>hadn't </span>
  </em>
  <span>noticed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“When did </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> start actually taking care of yourself?” It’s harsh, but Shu asks without thinking. It’s true though, Kuro’s always been one to not think about his own self-care, not really taking care of himself in any way that’s deemed extraneous or frivolous. It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>weird </span>
  </em>
  <span>that he’s changed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kuro ignores the jab, it’s less harsh than most of the things Shu says anyway. “Mikejima showed me some stuff, ’s no big deal,” he pauses for Shu to scoff, “I can’t sew when yer holdin’ my hand, y’know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shu debates letting him get back to work, he really does, but Kuro’s hand is warm and surprisingly soft, considering all the things he does that Shu assumes would lead to flaws; Shu doesn’t really want to let go. He’s too engrossed in inspecting Kuro’s palm for any pinpricks or cuts -- “I’m not ‘holding your hand’, you brute. I’m inspecting it,” -- his palms are dry but smooth, perfect for handling delicate fabrics as skin oils are less likely to transfer and ruin the fine textures with naturally dry hands, however it’s far from unpleasant, nothing like Mika’s always-cold, clammy palms--</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kuro turns his hand in Shu’s hold and intertwines their fingers; Shu jumps and immediately tries to pull away (though he doesn’t try </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> hard, Kuro’s hand really </span>
  <em>
    <span>does</span>
  </em>
  <span> feel nice against his own, though he won’t admit it out loud).</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Itsuki,” Kuro sighs. Shu looks up to see he’s smiling slightly, his eyes narrowed in that fond way Shu noted while studying him earlier. “Yer thinkin’ out loud. Didn’t know ya thought my hands’re nice,” Kuro squeezes Shu’s hand for emphasis, Shu feels an embarrassing heat crawling up the back of his neck, “and what else did’ya say? They’re se--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Non!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Shu shrieks, clamping down on Kuro’s hand, though still not pulling away. Kuro’s thumb, at some point, started tracing little circles into Shu’s skin and he’d be lying if he tried to say it was in any way unpleasant.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kuro simply chuckles, flipping the switch on the other side of his sewing machine with his free hand to turn it off. “If ya wanted t’hold my hand there’re easier ways to say so y’know. Like ya could just ask, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Icchan</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Words fail Shu then, all he can manage is a humiliated grumble, but Kuro, the bastard, laughs again as he squeezes Shu’s hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of course he has a nice laugh, too.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hey kuro why were you event during the one month i couldn't get you i thought we had something</p>
<p>@shiinyniki on twitter (stan kuroshu)</p>
<p>(quick updates hopefully but like i said kuro makes my brain melt so we'll see how that goes)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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